Archive for
October, 2008

October 24th, 2008 by
Keith

Shortly after the release of WordPress 2.6.2, the next version of WordPress 2.6.3 is now available for download. In Ryan’s blog, it was mentioned that a vulnerability was discovered in the Snoopy library.

This was found to be a low-risk vulnerability, and only affects two files in the WordPress installation. Hence, if you do not prefer to download the entire installation, you can over the 2 files below and replace them in their respective directories:

October 22nd, 2008 by
Keith

Early this month, Drupal announced the delivery of Drupal 6.5 and 5.11, but in a short period of 3 weeks, the next version of Drupal 6.6 and Drupal 5.12 are now released for upgrades. Both these versions are maintenance releases that primarily focus on fixing problems, as well as patching critical security vulnerabilities.

Hence, upgrading to these versions is highly recommended and should be done as soon as possible. Also, note that there are no new features incorporated in these releases. The change logs can be found in here (v6.6) and here (v5.12).

October 20th, 2008 by
Keith

Ask anyone which application is the best software for FTP (file transfer protocol), most of them will point in the direct of Filezilla. Filezilla is a free FTP solution that provides both server and client applications; furthermore, it is an open source software, distributed under the terms of the GNU GPL. In other words, you can download this for free and use it for personal purpose, as long as it is within the GNU GPL agreement.

Having used Filezilla for a long time, I have absolutely no complaint with this software as it provides almost everything that is required for file transfer. In addition to common FTP communication, it supports SFTP (Secure FTP) and FTPS (FTP using SSL). In the latest release of Filezilla Client 3.1.4.1, some of the bug were fixed.

October 19th, 2008 by
Keith

The open-source GIMP, also known as the GNU Image Manipulation Program, has released the latest version of GIMP 2.6.1. For others who are not familiar with GIMP, you can consider as a substitute for the free version of Adobe Photoshop. This software is capable of performing complex tasks, such as photo re-touching, image composition and image authoring. On top of that, it runs on multiple operating systems and not just Microsoft Windows alone.

Release notes for this version is made available here. From a development point of view, GIMP 2.6 series is a rather important release as it features major changes to the user interface that addresses some complaints provided by users. Furthermore, there is a tentative integration of GEGL, the graph based image process library, that will bring a much detailed and comprehensive editing to the users’ experience.

October 16th, 2008 by
Keith

For Firefox fans, this is good news! The next version of Firefox 3.1 is now out; just to make things clear, it is the beta version per se, that is released.

With this long awaiting browser wars between Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, this will allow users (perhaps testers and developers) to verify the real speed performance across all the web browsers. Behold Google Chrome’s V8 engine against TraceMonkey to compete for Javascript performance.

What’s new in this version?

* Web standards improvements in the Gecko layout engine.

* Added support for CSS 2.1 and CSS 3 properties.

* A new tab-switching shortcut that shows previews of the tab you’re switching to.

* Improved control over the Smart Location Bar using special characters to restrict your search.

* Support for new web technologies such as the and elements, the W3C Geolocation API, JavaScript query selectors, web worker threads, SVG transforms and offline applications.

* Want to quickly switch between tabs? Press Ctrl-Tab to jump back and forth!

* Control the Smart Location Bar results with special characters.

* Watch Ogg video without the need for any plugins.

* Drag and drop tabs from one Firefox window to another.

Strongly encourage all to give this Mozilla Firefox 3.1 (beta 1) version a try. So far, my experience with it seems very positive. Of course, you may have to be a little lenient on this application as it’s still in beta stage. Kindly note that, as this is still not official, perhaps it is advised not to deploy it on production machines.

October 12th, 2008 by
Keith

Just found something really cool! The UltraMixer 2.3.3 is a DJ audio mixing software that allows users to mix digital music in various formats, such as MP3, WMA, AAC, OGG, WAV or even CD in real-time. The basic hardware requirement is a good sound card. Similar to a physical DJ audio mixer, the DJ turntables are replaced by two digital SoundPlayers.

Here is some background information:

“…UltraMixer is the first DJ software in the world, that is available for the most popular operating systems Windows, Linux and Mac OS X…”

Exactly! Just when you need it at the party or in a restaurant, this “digitalised” version of DJ turntables will do just great! Three versions of UltraMixer are available; namely, the Free Edition, Basic Edition and the Professional Edition. The professional version costs as much as £129 and the Basic Edition costs approximately £59. If you are concerned about the cost, give the free edition for a trial run for no cost at all. However, it is only meant for private, non-public use.

October 11th, 2008 by
Keith

As I speak, OpenOffice 3.0 Final version is already released on several public mirrored servers for downloading. This was prepared way ahead of announcement time, which was due to be on Monday, October 13, 2008, as according to the source provided by ZDnet.

The path to the final download is usually listed under the category: stable/3.0.0/

As of now, the release note has yet to be made available, but it will soon be released. Meanwhile, if you cannot wait to get your hands on the latest copy of OpenOffice application suite, download it today.

October 8th, 2008 by
Keith

Drupal enthusiasts and power users, take note: the latest version of Drupal 6.5 and Drupal 5.11 are now released for upgrades. Both these versions are maintenance releases that primarily focus on fixing problems, as well as patching security vulnerabilities.

Upgrading to these versions is highly recommended. Also, note that there are no new features incorporated in these releases. The change logs can be found in here (v6.5) and here (v5.11).

October 7th, 2008 by
Keith

I knew some day, for sure, someone would come up with this idea of introducing a Ubuntu (Linux) operating systems for ASUS Eee PC, an ultra-light and mobile laptop, weighing barely 1kg. So, what do we have here? It’s Ubuntu Eee 8.04.1, powered and modded from Ubuntu.

From the original version of Ubuntu, the software has been streamlined and compressed to a lightweight operating system, specially meant for ASUS Eee PC. A brand new interface is introduced, following by a couple of fixes and enhanced hardware support. Hence, instead of installing the original version of Ubuntu, the Ubuntu Eee does fantastically well. This release supports various series, such as Eee 701 series, 2G, 900, 901, 1000 and 1000H models. Thus, there is no more worries when you need to install Ubuntu onto your Eee laptops now.